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Telecom valuation per subscriber 2026: top 10 operators

At the top of its IPO band, investors pay about ₹19,300 (roughly $200) for each Jio customer, about the same as for an Airtel or China Mobile customer, though a Jio user pays only ₹215.6 a month, so the price equals about 90 months of that user's bills.

  • No. 1: T-Mobile US
  • 10 places

01Final list

The leading AIs built their own top-ten lists independently. Above is one combined result that is easy to check: every place has a reason, the AIs that included it and, where the AIs gave one, a source.

Order: from most to least AI agreement.

A bright badge means this AI put the entry on its list. A dim badge means it did not.

  1. 1

    T-Mobile US

    Estimate based on one AI's EV ($270.5bn): about 39 months on a $48.80 ARPU. Market value alone is $211bn, and T-Mobile now reports ARPA ($152.91), not ARPU.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 3 · Gemini: 4

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 3

      T-Mobile is worth about $211bn, a premium US growth stock, but it now reports accounts instead of phones.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 4

      America's 5G market-share leader captures $1,900 per subscriber, translating to 39 months of ARPU through free cash flow conversion.

    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  2. 2

    China Mobile

    1.011bn customers at about $232 each, close to Jio's price per head, on almost three times Jio's ARPU (RMB 45.1). That is about 36–37 months, a utility multiple.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 4 · Gemini: 6

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 4

      The world's largest operator, with 1.01bn customers, is priced at about $230 per customer, only slightly above Jio, on roughly three times Jio's ARPU.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 6

      Exceeding 1 billion connections yields an enormous valuation, but a 1.3x EV/EBITDA multiple keeps its subscriber payback at 36 months of fees.

    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  3. 3

    Verizon

    Estimate: about 38 months on Gemini's $331bn EV. On market value alone ($193.9bn) it is about $1,320 per connection. Verizon reports $168.35 per account.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 5 · Gemini: 5

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 5

      Verizon is priced at about $1,320 per connection, yet markets treat it as a utility paid for its dividend.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 5

      Holding $130 billion in net debt inflates enterprise value to $2,300 per user, yet markets price it as a steady utility at 38 months of ARPU.

    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  4. 4

    AT&T

    About 30 months on market value ($1,650 per subscriber, $55.57 ARPU) or 34 on EV. The subscriber count is disputed: 109.8m retail wireless against 133.5m.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 6 · Gemini: 7

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 6

      AT&T's market value works out to about $1,650 per wireless subscriber, the highest on this list, against a phone ARPU of about $56.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 7

      Trimming legacy media distractions and refocusing on 5G and fiber pins customer multiples to 34 months of billing.

      Source ↗
    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  5. 5

    América Móvil

    About $230 per line on a $77.4bn market value, Jio's level. On a $9.10 ARPU that is only about 29 months (estimate). The 334.3m lines include M2M.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 7 · Gemini: 10

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 7

      Priced at about $77bn for roughly 334m lines, América Móvil is valued at about $230 per line, the same as Jio and China Mobile.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 10

      Dominating 330 million connections across Mexico and South America trades at 29 months of ARPU amid aggressive low-cost prepaid dynamics.

    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  6. 6

    China Telecom

    Estimate based on a single EV figure ($84.5bn): about 31 months. ARPU fell to RMB 43.5 from 46.0. Subscriber counts differ: 442.4m against 423.5m.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 8 · Gemini: 9

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 8

      China Telecom has 442m mobile users, yet its ARPU fell to RMB 43.5 and I found no market value for it.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 9

      Industrial cloud DICT revenue accelerates top-line growth, yet telecom utility caps keep the consumer multiple at 31 months.

      Source ↗
    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  7. 7

    Reliance Jio (Jio Platforms IPO)

    About ₹19,300 (~$200) of market value per customer paying ₹215.6 a month, roughly 90 months. Gemini's 105 rests on an unconfirmed $143–146bn EV.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 1 · Gemini: 1

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 1

      At the top of the price band, each Jio customer is priced at about $200, and that is about 90 months of the customer's own ARPU.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 1

      Investors pay 105 months of customer bills up front, wagering on JioBrain AI and cloud ecosystems over plain voice pipes.

      Source ↗
    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  8. 8

    Bharti Airtel

    Earns 22% more per user than Jio (₹264), yet is priced at about 73 months. Both AIs land there, but the ratio mixes Africa subscribers with India ARPU.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 2 · Gemini: 3

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 2

      Airtel earns about 22% more per user than Jio, yet it is priced at roughly 73 months of ARPU against Jio's 90.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 3

      A higher return on capital and premium subscriber mix commands 73 months of ARPU despite lagging Jio in raw subscriber counts.

    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  9. 9

    Deutsche Telekom

    Estimate: 32 months on a group-wide blend. Its $157bn market value includes the T-Mobile US stake, so a per-subscriber figure can't be cleanly assigned.

    Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Claude: 9 · Gemini: 8

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 9

      Germany adds 5.6m mobile customers a year, but the $157bn group value cannot be assigned to subscribers alone because of T-Mobile US.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 8

      A transatlantic footprint anchored by T-Mobile US lifts the group's global subscriber base to a 32-month ARPU benchmark.

      Source ↗
    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  10. 10

    SoftBank Corp.

    Estimate from one source: about 93 months on $102.5bn EV and ¥3,850 ARPU. Platform-like pricing tied to PayPay and LINE, but only 42.5m subscribers.

    Included it: Gemini. Did not include: Claude, Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

    In their lists: Gemini: 2

    What each AI noted 1
    • Geminiplace 2

      Cross-selling PayPay fintech and LINE digital messaging boosts customer valuation to 93 months of mobile service fees.

    1 AIs put it here
    no source given

More about the top three ↓

02More about the top three

The ranking is above. Here is more about the three places at the top: what they are, why they are here, and what is worth knowing.

The three figures are rough estimates on different bases: T-Mobile and Verizon use one AI's enterprise value and report per account, while China Mobile reports per-user ARPU in yuan.

1T-Mobile US

No. 1 — T-Mobile US. On the lists of 2 of 9 AIs; median place there: 3.5. The AIs see a premium US 5G growth stock, and its high enterprise value puts it at about 39 months of ARPU.

T-Mobile Headquarters in Bellevue, WA
FMM134 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

  • T-Mobile owns a trademark on one exact shade of magenta, Pantone Rhodamine Red U. In 2019 its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, sent a letter telling the insurance firm Lemonade to stop using a similar pink.

    Source ↗
What it is
The US 5G market-share leader, with a premium-priced growth stock.
Its edge
Highest of the three at about 39 months of a customer's bills.
Who should know
Useful for seeing how much investors pay for growth in the US market.
  • Price per user in ARPU monthsabout 39 months of ARPU
  • Founded2001
  • HeadquartersBellevue

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

  • T-Mobile's service revenue grew 9% in a year, to $19.0 billion. Its core adjusted EBITDA (a measure of operating profit) grew 12%, to $9.5 billion. Growth like this helps explain why investors pay a high price for each customer.

    Source ↗
Did you know

  • In 2014, T-Mobile won a lawsuit against Aio, an AT&T-owned carrier, over a color Aio called "plum." T-Mobile said it was too close to its magenta.

    Source ↗
History

  • In 2020 a US judge approved T-Mobile's merger with Sprint on February 11, after several states had sued to block it. The deal closed on April 1, and the Sprint brand was retired in August.

    Source ↗
Where to go further

  • Open T-Mobile's 2025 annual report (Form 10-K). Start with the business overview and the results section to see how the company earns money from phone plans. Skimming the main parts takes about 30 minutes.

    Source ↗

Video: Why T-Mobile and Verizon Customers Should Buy Their iPhones Directly from Apple · Stetson Doggett

Compare the top three ↓

2China Mobile

No. 2 — China Mobile. On the lists of 2 of 9 AIs; median place there: 5. It has the most customers in the world and a high ARPU, so each is priced at only about 36–37 months, like a utility.

ChinaMobile Communication Corporation,xi'an,CHINA - panoramio
miumiu熊 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Moxing Summi Guangzhou China mobile towers
古海岸遗址 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

  • China Mobile passed 1 billion subscribers at the end of the second quarter of 2019. That was more than twice the base of Reliance Jio, the next largest, at 489.7 million.

    Source ↗
What it is
The world's largest mobile operator, with about 1.01 billion customers.
Its edge
Earns roughly three times Jio's ARPU, so the price equals fewer months.
Who should know
Useful for seeing that a giant with flat growth is priced like a utility.
  • Price per user in ARPU monthsabout 36–37 months
  • Founded1997
  • HeadquartersBeijing

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

  • China Mobile ended the first half of 2026 with 1.011 billion mobile customers, after adding 5.88 million. Its mobile ARPU, the average monthly revenue per user, was RMB 45.1.

    Source ↗

  • It is the biggest operator here, but growth is flat. Revenue was RMB 538.04 billion, down 1.1%. Net profit was RMB 78.93 billion, down 6.3%. It still spent RMB 61 billion on its network, up 4.5%.

    Source ↗
History

  • China Mobile was born from the 1999 break-up of China Telecommunications Corporation. The company was first incorporated in 1997 as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited.

    Source ↗ ✓ confirmed by several AIs
Where to go further

  • Open China Mobile's 2025 annual results announcement. Look first at the operating revenue and profit lines, and at how the company describes its mobile customers. The first pages take about 30 minutes.

    Source ↗

Video: Cashless Society, How China Become Mobile First Country, World Largest Mobile Economy · Future Now

Compare the top three ↓

3Verizon

No. 3 — Verizon. On the lists of 2 of 9 AIs; median place there: 5. The AIs treat it as a utility paid for its dividend, so about 38 months on a high enterprise-value estimate.

Verizon Building (8156005279)
Eden, Janine and Jim from New York City · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
09a.WMATA.SouthernAvenue.TempleHillsMD.4August2011 (6009536163)
Elvert Barnes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

  • In 2013, Verizon agreed to pay $130 billion to buy Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. The deal was described as the third-largest corporate deal in history. Verizon had partly been buying itself back.

    Source ↗
What it is
A big US carrier that markets treat as a steady dividend payer.
Its edge
Lots of steady cash, yet priced at about $1,320 per connection.
Who should know
Useful for seeing how a slow-growth, cash-rich carrier is priced against faster rivals.
  • Price per user in ARPU monthsabout 38 months of ARPU
  • Founded1983
  • HeadquartersNew York City

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

  • Verizon makes a lot of cash. Free cash flow was $10.2 billion in the first half of 2026, up from $8.8 billion a year earlier. That steady cash supports its value.

    Source ↗

  • Verizon's growth is slower. In Q2 2026 it added 184,000 postpaid phone customers. Revenue was $34.3 billion, down 0.7%. Net income was $3.9 billion, down 22.9%. It added 348,000 broadband connections.

    Source ↗
Did you know

  • Vodafone was to get $58.9 billion in cash and $60.2 billion in Verizon stock. It said it would return 71 percent of the net proceeds to its own shareholders.

    Source ↗
History

  • Verizon Wireless was founded on April 4, 2000, as a joint venture of Bell Atlantic and British-based Vodafone AirTouch. Verizon held 55 percent and Vodafone 45 percent.

    Source ↗
Where to go further

  • Open Verizon's 2025 annual report (Form 10-K). Start with the business section to see how Verizon describes its wireless service and its customers. Skimming the main parts takes about 30 minutes.

    Source ↗

Video: Verizon's Cell Phone Plans Explained! (2024) · Stetson Doggett

Compare the top three ↓

The top three side by side

T-Mobile USChina MobileVerizon
In the AIs' lists2 / 92 / 92 / 9
Price per user in ARPU monthsabout 39 months of ARPUabout 36–37 monthsabout 38 months of ARPU
Founded200119971983
HeadquartersBellevueBeijingNew York City
Put first by———

Places with the same number of AIs are ordered by their average place in the AIs' own lists.

More ratings

03Worth knowing

What the AIs noticed while building the list.

Brokers put Jio at 10.5–13x FY28E EV/EBITDA against 9.2–10.3x for Airtel India. That is a premium of up to 17%, but still a telecom multiple, not a platform one.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.
Source ↗

Dollars per subscriber mislead: Jio and Airtel are about $200 per user, US carriers over $1,000, but US users pay over $50 a month. In months of ARPU, Jio (~90) tops Airtel (~73) and the US trio (30–39).

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.
Source ↗

Sources disagree on what Jio is worth: ₹10.3 lakh crore (~$106–107bn) equity at the top of the band; Jefferies $136bn; Gemini's $143–146bn EV; Goldman's $154bn bull-case EV. Some figures are equity value and some are EV.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.
Source ↗

Up to ₹27,500 crore of the IPO's proceeds goes to prepaying Jio's own borrowings, so much of the record ₹30,213 crore raise pays down debt rather than funding growth.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude. Did not include: Meta, Gemini, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.
Source ↗

Jio's ARPU rose only 3.3% year on year to ₹215.6, while China Mobile (RMB 45.1) and China Telecom (RMB 43.5) saw ARPU fall. Low-ARPU IoT, prepaid and M2M lines also dilute subscriber counts, so the counts aren't like-for-like.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.
Source ↗

04How we counted

In plain words, no formulas.

1The question

Top 10 mobile operators worldwide: what each customer pays compared with what investors pay for each customer

2Why this topic

Subscriber counts and market values sit in separate tables. Put together, they show how much investors pay for each rupee or dollar a customer actually spends.

3Where it applies

global telecom

4What we looked at

  • Active mobile subscribers
  • Enterprise value (market value plus net debt) in US dollars
  • Enterprise value per subscriber divided by monthly revenue per user (ARPU)
  • TRAI-based reporting and company results (via Upstox, Inc42, Moneycontrol) — Wireless subscribers and monthly ARPU for Jio and Airtel: Jio ₹215.6 and Airtel ₹264 for the quarter ended June 2026
  • TelecomLead operator subscriber tables, Q2 2026 — Subscribers as each company reports them. Definitions differ: wireless subscribers, postpaid accounts, total accesses, IoT
  • TelecomLead ARPU comparison 2026 — Monthly ARPU, or ARPA (per account) for Verizon and T-Mobile. Not strictly comparable across operators
  • Capital.com largest telecom companies by market cap — Equity market value in US dollars at April 23, 2026 closing prices. Net debt not included
  • S&P Global Market Intelligence / Capital IQ — Enterprise value: market capitalization plus debt minus cash

5Who ranked

The leading AIs, each building its own list of ten independently and naming a source for every place: Claude, Meta, Gemini, Nemotron, Nova, StepFun, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Kimi.

6How the places were set

The same entry written differently by different AIs was counted as one. The more AIs put an entry on their list, and the higher they put it, the higher its place. "AI agreement" shows how many of the AIs had it on their own list. Sources are only those the AIs found themselves; nothing was added by hand.

05Each AI's own list

🇺🇸 Claude10 places · 3 notes

The same question, answered by Claude alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Reliance Jio (India, 2026 IPO)

    At the top of the price band, each Jio customer is priced at about $200, and that is about 90 months of the customer's own ARPU.

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Bharti Airtel (India and Africa)

    Airtel earns about 22% more per user than Jio, yet it is priced at roughly 73 months of ARPU against Jio's 90.

    Source ↗
  3. 3
    T-Mobile US

    T-Mobile is worth about $211bn, a premium US growth stock, but it now reports accounts instead of phones.

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    China Mobile

    The world's largest operator, with 1.01bn customers, is priced at about $230 per customer, only slightly above Jio, on roughly three times Jio's ARPU.

    Source ↗
  5. 5
    Verizon

    Verizon is priced at about $1,320 per connection, yet markets treat it as a utility paid for its dividend.

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    AT&T

    AT&T's market value works out to about $1,650 per wireless subscriber, the highest on this list, against a phone ARPU of about $56.

    Source ↗
  7. 7
    América Móvil

    Priced at about $77bn for roughly 334m lines, América Móvil is valued at about $230 per line, the same as Jio and China Mobile.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    China Telecom

    China Telecom has 442m mobile users, yet its ARPU fell to RMB 43.5 and I found no market value for it.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Deutsche Telekom (Germany mobile)

    Germany adds 5.6m mobile customers a year, but the $157bn group value cannot be assigned to subscribers alone because of T-Mobile US.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    MTN Group (Africa)

    MTN has 317.7m active subscribers across 19 markets, but I found no market value or enterprise value for it.

    Source ↗

What Claude noticed

Jio and Airtel charge about $2-3 a month per user, yet each is valued at about $200 per subscriber. US carriers are valued at over $1,000 per connection, but they also earn over $50 a month per phone. Value per month of ARPU is the fairer comparison, and it puts Jio, at about 90 months, above Airtel, at about 73 months.

Source ↗

Only about 55% of the IPO's ₹30,213 crore goes to growth: up to ₹27,500 crore of net proceeds prepays Jio's own borrowings, so most of the cash goes to debt repayment.

Source ↗

Jio's ARPU is rising only slowly, +3.3% year on year to ₹215.6. China Mobile and China Telecom ARPU are falling (RMB 45.1 and RMB 43.5), so Jio's pricing power is still stronger than China's.

Source ↗
🇺🇸 Gemini10 places · 3 notes

The same question, answered by Gemini alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Reliance Jio (India, 2026)

    Investors pay 105 months of customer bills up front, wagering on JioBrain AI and cloud ecosystems over plain voice pipes.

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    SoftBank Corp. (Japan)

    Cross-selling PayPay fintech and LINE digital messaging boosts customer valuation to 93 months of mobile service fees.

  3. 3
    Bharti Airtel (India)

    A higher return on capital and premium subscriber mix commands 73 months of ARPU despite lagging Jio in raw subscriber counts.

  4. 4
    T-Mobile US (United States)

    America's 5G market-share leader captures $1,900 per subscriber, translating to 39 months of ARPU through free cash flow conversion.

  5. 5
    Verizon Communications (United States)

    Holding $130 billion in net debt inflates enterprise value to $2,300 per user, yet markets price it as a steady utility at 38 months of ARPU.

  6. 6
    China Mobile (China)

    Exceeding 1 billion connections yields an enormous valuation, but a 1.3x EV/EBITDA multiple keeps its subscriber payback at 36 months of fees.

  7. 7
    AT&T (United States)

    Trimming legacy media distractions and refocusing on 5G and fiber pins customer multiples to 34 months of billing.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    Deutsche Telekom (Germany / Global)

    A transatlantic footprint anchored by T-Mobile US lifts the group's global subscriber base to a 32-month ARPU benchmark.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    China Telecom (China)

    Industrial cloud DICT revenue accelerates top-line growth, yet telecom utility caps keep the consumer multiple at 31 months.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    América Móvil (Latin America)

    Dominating 330 million connections across Mexico and South America trades at 29 months of ARPU amid aggressive low-cost prepaid dynamics.

What Gemini noticed

Jio Platforms trades at roughly 105 months of customer ARPU, which is nearly triple the valuation multiple of traditional US operators like AT&T and Verizon (34–38 months), validating its positioning as an AI and digital platform rather than a regulated telecom utility.

Source ↗

A customer paying ₹216 ($2.56) a month generates $270 of enterprise valuation for Jio in India, whereas a US postpaid subscriber paying $60 a month generates $2,200 of enterprise valuation for Verizon, demonstrating how local capital structures and ARPUs diverge by orders of magnitude.

Source ↗

China Mobile commands over 1 billion subscribers and generates industry-leading gross profits, yet trades at a modest EV/EBITDA of ~1.3x and 36 months of ARPU due to strict state-guided data tariff caps and public infrastructure service mandates.

Source ↗